Railway flat car for the transport of containers or trailers



Dec. 24, 1968 F. c. PuLcRANo ETAL 3,417,712

RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS 8 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 3, 1967 lINVENTORS.

FRANK c.Pu| cRANo WALTER E. o'Ll-:ARY

ATTORNEY IIIWWWHIHIHIPIUIHIHHWN EDWIN A. ZAMBRUSKI Dec. 24, 1968 Filed April 5. 1967 Io I., II m l I` o I'Il r- 1 |I n1 fu l I `-f I II IIJ? I |"I I II II I' I I I II I I II I I II I I II I I I I I II I II l Il I II I I II I I I I I I II I I II I I II I II I I II I| I I, I I I I I I II I I II I I| I I |l l I| I N I I I| I 'J I Il I I I I I II II I I| I I II I Il I I II I I Il I i II I l v II I I- :I I I |I I I I n I |I I l lI I I0 I II l I I I I I I I II I 9 I II IV l I I I I" I "I I I I DI II I I II I I II I I I |I I Q I l I I 1| I "im I I I II I II I w I I I II I f" Q I ,I I I II I t I' I I ,I I I I| I I 'I I l I I I I I II II I II I I II I I II I Il I Q' I II I Il I I II I I Il I 9 I I I I: I I.|.

I w I II I I II II? I II I I I I" I II I I I I I II I II I I II I I Il I I II I I I I I l .Il I I Il I I l I II I I I II I I., I I I II I o I I I I I I I l L I. I I r1. I I"I N I'I/ I lL J. I sa I I "1 5I l I F. c. PULcRANo I-:TAL 3,417,712

RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 24, 1968 F. c. PuLcRANo ETAx. 3,417,712

-RILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS 8 SheetsfSheet 3 Filed April 5, 1967 Dec. 24, 1968 F. c. PuLcRANo ETAL 3,417,712

RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 5, 1967 Dec. 24, 1968 F. c. PuLcRANo ETAL 3,41 71,712.

RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS Filed April 5. 1967 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 F. c.Pu| cRANo ETAL 3,417,712

RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Dec. 24, 1968 Filed April 5. 1967 Dec. 24, 1968 F. c. PuLcRANo ETAL 3,417,712

RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS 8 Sheets-Sheet -7 Filed April 5. 1967 'uur . 24, 1968 F. c. PuLcRANo ETAL 3,417,712 l RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS Filed April 3. 1967 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 United States Patent O RAILWAY FLAT CAR FOR THE TRANSPORT OF CONTAINERS OR TRAILERS Frank C. Pulcrano, St. Charles, Walter E. OLeary, Creve Coeur, and Edwin A. Zambruski, St. Louis County, Mo., assignors to ACF Industries, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 627,808

14 Claims. (Cl. 10S-368) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A railway at car for the transport of containers or trailers and having a pair of spaced rails extending generally the length of the car a'long the treadways and mounted within cutouts in the deck to form a continuation of the deck surface thereby to provide a generally even and ilush deck so that roadway vehicles may be easily driven over the deck and rails. The rails are mounted for cushioned sliding movement relative to the underframe and have a plurality of container corner pedestals mounted for sliding movement thereon for positioning at selected intervals along the length of the car to accommodate containers of varying lengths. The pedestals may be pivoted into cutout portions in the deck to stored or inoperable positions and permit a relative cushioned sliding movement of the associated rail when in the stored position while covering the cutout portions and forming a continuation of the deck surface.

Backgrolmd of the invention Heretofore, containers have been supported on corner pedestals on railway fiat cars with the pedestals being movable to a stored or inoperable position to permit the flat car to transport trailers. Corner supports for containers have also been positioned at selective intervals along the length of the deck to accommodate containers of various lengths. A railway flat car normally accommodates two, three, or four containers. When two containers are transported, eight corner pedestals are required while four containers require sixteen corner pedestals. It is highly desirable `to have the corner pedestals retained on the flat car so as to prevent loss or misplacement of the pedestals. Also, when only two containers are being transported, the remaining unused pedestals should be stored in inoperable position while being retained on the ilat car in such a manner as to prevent removal of the pedestals.

Description of the invention The present invention is directed to a railway at car having a generally at deck with a pair of rails mounted within openings or slots along the treadways of the deck and forming a continuation of the deck surface to support roadway vehicles thereon for the transport of containers. Corner support pedestals for a container are mounted for sliding movement along the inset rails and may be releasably secured at predetermined positions along the length of the rails lto accommodate containers of varying lengths while being retained by the rails on the car to prevent removal thereof. Cutouts in the deck surface are also provided to store the corner support pedestals and `upon pivoting of the pedestals into the cutout portions the pedestals form a cover for the cutout portions and a continuation of the deck surface.

The rails of the present invention are mounted for cushioned sliding movement relative to the deck for cushioning the containers upon impact loads being eX- erted against the car. As some of the pedestals may be in stored positions during the transport of containers, such 3,417,712 Patented Dec. 24, 1968 as during the transport of only one or two containers, the rails and stored pedestals are mounted so that the rails may move relative to the stored pedestals while the stored pedestals remain connected to the rails to prevent removal thereof.

Briefly, the corner pedestal is mounted between a pair of slide blocks which slide along an associated rail. A linkage lbetween the slide blocks and the pedestals permits pivoting of the pedestal transversely of the deck into a pocket or cutout for storing with the pedestal remaining connected to the rail and forming a cover for the cutout portion of the deck.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a railway llat car adapted to transport either containers or trailers and having a generally smooth deck free of project-ing members.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a railway at c-ar in which support pedestals may be positioned along the length of a car to accommodate containers of varying lengths and are mounted on the car in such a manner so as to prevent removal from the car.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a flat car having support pedestals which are cushioned to absorb impact forces exerted against the car and which may be easily stored.

Another object is -to provide such cushioned pedestals which, in stored or retracted position, are disconnected from the cushioning means while the cushioning means remains operable.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated;

FIGURES 1 and 2 form a composite plan view of a railway flat car comprising the present invention and adapted to transport either containers or trailers;

FIGURES 3 and 4 form a composite side elevation of the railway at car shown -in FIGURES 1 and 2, FIGURE 3 showing one-half the length of the car and FIGURE 4 showing the remaining one-half length of the car;

FIGURE 5 is a section taken generally along line 5*5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is ya section taken generally along line 6-6 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged section taken generally along line 7 7 of FIGURE 1 and illustrating means for cushioning the slidable rail;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged section taken generally along line 3-8 of FIGURE 1 and illustrating means to guide a r-ail along the cross members of the railway car underframe;

FIGURE 9 is a section taken generally along line 9 9 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective of the pedestal for supporting the lower corner of a container and shown in an erect position mounted on a rail;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged plan view of the pedestal shown in FIGURE 10 pivoted to a stored or inoperative position and permitting relative sliding movement of the rail while remaining connected thereto;

FIGURE 12 is an end elevation of the pedestal shown in FIGURE l0 in erect position, the rail being illustrated in section;

-FIGURE 13 is an end elevation similar to FIGURE 12. but showing the pedestal pivoted to a stored position within a cutout portion of the deck;

FIGURE 14 is a top plan of the pedestal in erect position;

FIGURE 15 is a section taken generally along line 15-15 of FIGURE 14; and

FIGURE 16 is a section taken generally along line 16-16 of FIGURE 14.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings for a better understanding of this invention and more particularly to FIGURES l-9, a railway flat car is generally indicated having a side sill generally indicated 12 extending along each side thereof. Side sill 12 includes an outer angle 14 and an inner angle 16 welded to each other to form a box-shaped sill section. A deck or tloor 18 is secured over a box-shaped center sill 20. Stringers 22 extend longitudinally beneath deck 18 and cross members 24 are secured between center sill and side sills 12. Referring to FIGURE 6, a bolster structure generally indicated 26 is illustrated, including center plate 28, bottom cover plates 30, and bolster webs 32. Side sills 12, cross members 24, stringers 22, center sill 20, and the remaining structure beneath deck 18 comprise the underframe for railway at car 10.

In the event it is desired to employ railway at car 10 for the transport of trailers, center rub rails 33 are secured to the upper surface of deck 18 to guide the wheels of the roadway vehicles. To secure trailers on flat car 10 for transport, collapsible hitches indicated generally 34 are mounted on deck 18. For further details of collapsible hitches 34, reference is made to U.S. Patent No. 3,145,006 issued Aug. 18, 1964, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by this reference.

Flat car 10 is particularly adapted for the transport of containers C illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4. Supporting containers C are corner supports or pedestals generally indicated 35 adapted to fit beneath and support the lower corners of the containers. Two independent guide rails 36 are mounted along each side of car 10 adjacent a side sill 12, each guide rail 36 being of a length generally one-half the length of car 10 and extending longitudinally of the car as shown in FIGURES l and 2. Pedestals 35 are supported on guide rails 36 for sliding movement and may be selectively positioned along the length of each associated guide rail 36 to accommodate containers of various lengths. Each guide rail 36 includes an upper plate 38, a lower plate 40, and connecting vertical webs 42 to form a box-shaped section. Vertical webs 42 are spaced inwardly slightly from the outer edges of upper and lower plates 38, 40 to form overhanging marginal edge portions or flanges 44 on upper plate 38 and underhanging marginal edge portions or flanges 46 on lower plate 40 as shown particularly in FIGURES 7 and 8.

Guide rails 36 are positioned within cutouts or slots between the adjacent side sills 12 and floor 18 and upper plates 38 of guide rails 36 are generally in the same horizontal plane as floor 18 and the upper anges of legs 16 on side sills 12 thereby to provide a generally even and flush deck surface. As side sills 12 -do not project about the deck surface, lifting arms of overhead cranes or the like may easily move laterally beneath containers C for loading and unloading without any obstruction from side sills 12.

Each guide rail 36 is mounted for sliding independent cushioned movement relative to the other rails 36 as indicated in FIGURES l and 2. Referring particularly to FIGURES 8 and 9, each guide rail 36 is supported on the upper surfaces of the subjacent cross members 24. Retainer members 48 secured to cross members 24 have extending lugs 50 overlapping side portions 46 of lower plate 40 to restrain lateral and upward movements of guide rail 36 and to guide rails 36 in a longitudinal direction upon relative sliding movement thereof.

Mounted beneath each rail 36 adjacent each end thereof is a rubber shear pad generally designated 52 forming a cushion unit as indicated in FIGURES 1-4 to cushion the movement of associated rail 36. Referring particularly to FIGURE 7, a lower plate 54 is secured by welding to adjacent bulb-shaped angles 56 which are secured between a pair of adjacent cross members 24. Guide members 57 connect the upper ends of angles 56 to stringers 22 and side sills 12 of the underframe. Rubber shear pad 52 is mounted over plate 54 between webs 56 and includes a lower plate 58 secured by bolts 60 to plate 54 and an upper plate 62 bolted at 63 to lower plate of rail 36. Plates 58, 62 and intermediate plates 64 have rubber bonded therebetween to form shear pad 52 as an integral connected unit. Rail 36 may preferably move between around eight (8) and fteen (l5) inches relative to cross members 24 with upper plate 62 moving with rail 36 while lower plate 58 is restrained by support plate 54 thereby to place rubber pad 52 in shear.

The two pedestals -35 adjacent each end of car 10 may not be moved past the adjacent bolster structure 26 as cover plates 65 are welded over rail 36 as shown in FIGURE 6. To reinforce the outer sides of bolster structure 26 and to permit sliding movement of rail 36 extending through bolster structure 26, an intermediate vertical web 66 is secured adjacent each rail 36. A horizontal bolster support web 67 is secured between vertical web 66 and side sill 12 beneath each rail 36. Space is thus provided between webs 67 and plates 65 to receive rails 36 in supporting relation.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 10-16, a container support pedestal 35 is mounted for sliding movement along an associated rail 36. Each rail 36 has at least two pedestals 35 mounted thereon and may have as many as four depending on the length and number of containers to be transported. Each pedestal 35 has a lower base 68 resting on the upper surface of the subjacent associated rail 36. A pair of guide lugs 70 on each side of base 68 fit beneath edge portions 44 of rail 36 and prevent removal of pedestal 36 from the associated rail.

To position pedestal 3S at selected intervals along the length of guide rail 36, a plurality of openings 72 are n provided in upper plate 38 of guide rail 36. Fitting within an opening in base 68 is a releasable locking pin 74 adapted to be aligned with a selected opening 72 for locking pedestal 34 in position. A manual grip 76 permits a manual raising of locking pin 74 from associated opening 72 in the event it is desired to release pedestal 35 from locked position for movement to another position.

A pair of container seats 78 are spaced vertically above base plate 68 and side walls 80 extend upwardly therefrom to receive the lower corners of a pair of adjacent containers, if desired. Container locking pins 82 lit within aligned container openings to secu-re the containers against vertical movement. In many instances pedestal 35 will support only one container but is adapted to support a pair of adjacent containers, if desired.

Mounting pedestal 35 for movement toa stored or retracted position are a pair of slide members or blocks 84 each having grooves to receive adjacent edge portions 44 for sliding movement therefalong. A sepa-rate linkage connects pedestal 35 to each slide block 84 for a swinging or pivotal movement and comprises a crank arm 86 having a pin 88 on one end thereof pivotally connected to the associated slide block 84. A pin 90 adjacent the other end of each crank arm 86 has .an enlarged end 92 as shown in FIGURE 14 which fits within a slot 94 along the adjacent side of pedestal 35 to permit a sliding movement of pedestal 35 relative to slide blocks 84 and pins 90 when pedestal 35 moves to the retracted position shown in FIGURE 13.

To store pedestal 35 when not in use, deck 18 has cutout 96 positioned at various intervals. As shown particularly in FIGURE 2, stringers 22 are interrupted at 97 to form cutouts 96. To permit pivoting of pedestal 35 into an aligned cutout 96, additional cutouts 98 in edge portion 44 are aligned with retaining lugs 70` at each cutout 96 and receive lugs 70 upon pivoting the pedestal. To support pedestal 35 in stored position, support plates 100 =are secured to the underside of deck 18 and extend into the space formed by cutout 96. Edge ledges 102 on side walls 80 fit against plates 100 as shown in FIGURES 11 and 13 to support pedestal 35 in stored position. One cutout 96 is provided for each pedestal 35 and upon raising locking pin 74, pedestal 35 may be moved along supporting lrail 36 to horizontal alignment with a selected cutout 96. At this position, lugs 70 are also aligned with cutouts 98. Then, pedestal 35 is pivoted to the position shown in FIGURES 11 and 13. In this position, wall 80 forms a cover for cutout 96 and a continuation of the deck surface so that roadway vehicles may be easily driven over stored pedestals 35. Twelve cutouts 96 are illustrated to provide storage for twelve pedestals 35 and accommodate four (4) containers, it being understood that each intermediate pedestal 35 may support two containers thereon. A railway car of around eighty-nine (89) feet in length may accommodate four containers of twenty (20) foot lengths.

Upon an impact force being exerted against car 10 during the transport of containers, the load is transferred from pedestals 35 to rails 36 and shear pads 52; thence to lower plate 54, angles 56, stringers 22, and side sills 12. Thus, the load path upon impact is from rails 36 to the underframe of the car.

While two independent guide rails 36 are illustrated on each side of car 10, it is to be understood that rails 36 on each side of the car may be removably secured together, if desired, such as during the transport of three containers with the center container overlapping rails 36 on each side of car 10. When rails 36 on each side of car 10 are secured to each other, such as by a removable bar or the like, the connected rails act as an integral rail during cushioned movement.

Thus, pedestals 35 may easily slide along rails 36 for permitting positioning at selected intervals along the rails to accommodate various lengths of containers C. Pedestals 3S are retained on rails 36 to prevent removal from car 10 but may 'be easily pivoted into deck cutouts 96 for storing purposes. In such stored position pedestals 35 form =a portion of the deck surface and may support roadway vehicles thereon. Rails 36 are mounted for sliding cushioned movement to absorb the impact loads exerted against car 10 to protect the lading within the containers. In the event some of pedestals 3S are in stored position during such cushioned movement, such as during the t-ransport of only two containers, rails 36 will move relative to the stored pedestals.

In View of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results obtained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway flat car adapted to support containers or the like thereon, comprising, a generally at deck having a pair of spaced generally parallel openings extending longitudinally of the deck generally along the treadways vof the deck, a rail mounted in each opening and forming a general continuation of the deck surface, means mounting the railsin said openings for generally horizontal relative sliding movement longitudinally of the deck, a plurality of container support pedestals on said rails adapted to support the lower corners of a container thereon, means mounting said pedestals on said rails for movement relative to said rails from an erect container support position projecting above the rails and deck to a retracted position generally beneath the deck of the car to permit movement of a roadway vehicle over the deck without obstruction, said pedestal mounting means in the retracted position of the pedestals being connected to the rails and preventing removal of the pedestals from the rails, but permitting the rails to move longitudinally relative to the retracted pedestals, and cushion means operatively connected to said rails to restrain movement of said rails and associated erect pedestals to provide a cushioned movement of the rails and erect pedestals thereon relative to the deck and any retracted pedestals.

2. A railway at car as set forth in claim 1 wherein cooperating means on said rails and support pedestals releasably secure said pedestals at selected intervals along the length of the rails to accommodate containers of varying lengths.

3. In a railway flat car for transporting containers kand having an underframe, a generally flat deck over the underframe, and a guide rail extending longitudinally of the deck; the improvement comprising a pedestal supported on said guide rail and adapted to support the corner of a container thereon, a pair of longitudinally spaced slide members mounted on said rail for sliding movement therealong, means mounting said pedestal on said spaced slide members for pivotal movement in a direction ltransversely of the car between an erect position adapted to support a container thereon and a retracted position, locking means to releasably secure the pedestal to the rail at sellected intervals, retaining means adjacent the underside of said pedestal adapted to engage said rail for restraining removal of the pedestal from the rail, a cutout portion on the deck adjacent a side of the rail to receive the pedestal in a retracted position when pivoted transversely of the deck, the pedestal covering the cutout portion of the deck and forming a continuation thereof in retracted position, and an additional cutout portion in said rail ladjacent the cutout deck portion to receive said retaining means on the pedestal to allow the pedestal to be pivoted into the deck cutout portion.

4. In a railway at car as set forth in claim 3, linkage means pivotally connected between the slide members and the pedestal for pivoting ofthe pedestal between erect and retracted positions relative to the slide members.

5. In a railway ilat car ladapted to support -containers and having an underframe including a center sill, a pair of side sills, and a plurality of transversely extending cross members secured between the center sill and the side sills; a generally at deck extending over the underframe and spaced vertically from the cross members, said deck having a slot adjacent each side sill extending longitudinally of the deck, a rail mounted in each slot for sliding movement on the cross members between the deck and subjacent cross members, each rail having spaced upper and lower generally horizontal webs each having free marginal edge portions, guide means on said cross members cooperating with the free edge portions on said lower horizontal web for guiding the sliding movement of said rails, container supports mounted on said rails for sliding movement therealong, guide means on said container supports cooperating with the free edge portions of said upper webs and permitting sliding movement of said supports along the rails for positioning at selected intervals, said guide means for the container supports retaining said container supports on said rails and preventing inadvertent removal of the container supports from the rails, means mounting said container supports on said rails for pivotal movement between erect and retracted positions in a direction transversely of the railway car, said deck having cutout portions adjacent the sides of said rails to receive said container supports when pivoted to retracted position, said container supports covering said cutout portions in retracted position and forming a continuation of the deck surface, and cushion ymeans beneath the deck secured between the underframe and rails to cushion the sliding movement of the rails and container supports relative to the underframe upon impact loads being exerted against the railway car.

6. In a railway flat car adapted to support containers and having an underframe including a center sill, a pair of side sills, `and a plurality of transversely extending cross members secured between the center sill and side sills; a generally ilat deck extending over the underframe and spaced vertically from the cross members, said deck having a slot adjacent each side sill extending longitudinally of the deck, a rail mounted in each slot for sliding movement on the cross members between the deck and subjacent cross members, each rail having spaced upper and lower generally horizontal webs each having free marginal edge portions, guide means on said cross members cooperating with the free edge portions on said lower horizontal web for guiding the sliding movement of said rails, container supports mounted on said rails for sliding movement therealong, a pair of slide blocks on each container support mounted for sliding movement along the adjacent free edge portion of the associated upper web and permitting sliding movement of the support along the associated rail for positioning the container support at selected intervals along the length of the associated rail, means mounting the associated container support on said slide blocks for relative pivotal movement between erect and retracted positions in a direction transversely of the railway car, said deck having a cutout portion adjacent a side of said associated rail to receive said container support when pivoted to retracted position relative to said slide blocks, said slide blocks retaining said container supports on said rails and preventing inadvertent removal of the container supports from the rails, and cushion means beneath the deck secured between the underframe and rails to cushion the sliding movement of the rails and container supports relative to the underframe upon impact loads being exerted against the railway car.

7. A railway flat car adapted to support containers or the like thereon, comprising, an underframe, a generally at deck over the underframe having a pair of spaced generally parallel slots extending longitudinally of the deck, a rail mounted in each slot for generally horizontal sliding movement longitudinally of the deck, a plurality of container support pedestals each adapted to support and secure the lower corner of a container thereon, a pair of slide members for each container support pedestal mounted on an associated rail for sliding movement along the rail for positioning the pedestal at selected intervals along the length of the rail to accommodate containers of varying lengths, means mounting the pedestal on said associated pair of slide members for pivotal movement between erect and transverse positions in a direction transversely of the railway car, said deck having cutout portions adjacent the sides of said rails to receive the support pedestals when pivoted to retracted position, said pedestals covering said cutout portions in retracted position and forming a continuation of the deck surface, and cushion means beneath the deck secured between the rails and underframe to restrain movement of said rails and pedestals and to provide a cushioned movement of the rails and pedestals relative to the deck upon impact loads being exerted against the railway car.

8. A railway at car as set forth in claim 7 wherein said cushion means comprises a plurality of elastomeric shear pads mounted beneath each rail, each shear pad having Ian upper plate secured to the underside of the superjacent rail and a lower plate secured to the underframe.

9. A railway flat car as set forth in claim 7 wherein locking means releasably secure the container pedestals at selected intervals along the length of the rails, and guide lugs on the underside of each container pedestal engage the associated rail to prevent removal of the pedestal from the rail and to guide the pedestal therealong.

10. A railway at car adapted to support containers thereon, comprising, an underframe, a deck on the underframe having a pair of spaced, generally parallel slots extending longitudinally thereof, a rait mounted in each slot, container supports on the rails adapted to support containers thereon, means on said underframe beneath the deck supporting the rails and associated supports for generally horizontal sliding movement longitudinally of the deck, means mounting the container supports on said rails for movement relative to said rails from an erect container support position projecting above the rails and deck to a retracted position not obstructing the deck, means to restrain longitudinal movement of the container supports relative to the deck when the supports are in retracted position, said mounting means in the retracted position of the container supports being connected to the rails and preventing removal of the container supports from the rails but permitting the rails to move longitudinally relative to the retracted container supports, and cushioning means secured between the underframe and the rails to cushion the sliding movement of the rails and container supports relative to the underframe upon impact loads being exerted against the railway car.

11. In a railway at car for transporting containers and having an underframe, a deck over the underframe, and a guideway extending longitudinally of the deck; the improvement of a container support structure comprising, a container support pedestal adapted to support the lower corner of a container thereon, a slide member mounted on the guideway for sliding movement along the guideway, means mounting the support pedestal on said slide member for movement along the guideway with said slide member, means to position the support pedestal at selected intervals along the guideway to accommodate containers of varying lengths, locking means to releasably secure the support pedestal at said selected intervals, and a cutout portion on said deck adjacent a side of the guideway to receive the support pedestal in a retracted position, said mounting means for the support pedestal mounting the pedestal on the slide member for a combined swinging and sliding movement in a direction transversely of the car toward the cutout portion from an erect position to a retracted position within the cutout portion, said mounting means including pivotal means on the slide member to permit swinging of the support pedestal thereon and further including elongate guide means on the support pedestal connected with said pivotal means to permit sliding of the pedestal relative to the pivotal means and the slide member.

12. In a railway flat car having a deck and a guideway extending longitudinally of the deck; the improvement of a container support structure comprising, a container support pedestal adapted to support the lower corner of a container thereon, a slide member mounted on the guideway for sliding movement along the guideway, means mounting said support pedestal on said slide member for movement along the guideway with said slide member, means to position the pedestal at selected intervals along the guideway to accommodate containers of varying lengths, means to releasably secure the pedestal at said selected intervals, and a cutout portion on said deck adjacent the guideway to receive the pedestal in a retracted position, said mounting means permitting the pedestal to swing downwardly in a generally pivotal movement toward the cutout portion, and further permitting the support pedestal to slide in a direction generally toward the cutout portion relative to the slide member, whereby the support pedestal when moved to the retracted position after said combined swinging and sliding movement covers the cutout portion and forms a continuation of the deck.

13. In a railway flat car as set forth in claim 12, said mounting means including pivotal means on the slide member to permit swinging of the pedestal and further including an elongate slot structure on said pedestal connected with said pivotal means to permit sliding of the pedestal relative to the pivotal means and the slide member.

14. For use within a guideway on the deck of a railway flat car, a container support structure comprising, a slide member adapted to be mounted on the guideway for sliding movement therealong, a container support pedestal adapted to receive and support the lower corner 9 10 of a container thereon, and means mounting the sup 2,017,414 10/ 1935 Lie-begott 10S-366 port pedestal on the slide member, said mounting means 2,159,479 5/ 1939 Goodwin et al. 105-368 X including pivotal means on the slide member to permit 2,969,023 1/ 1961 Chapman et al. 105-368 swinging of the support pedestal thereon, and further in- 3,070,042 12/ 1962 Dunlap 10S-368 cluding elongate guide means on said pedestal connected 5 3,102,646 9/ 1963 Clejan 105-368 X with said pivotal means to permit sliding of the support 3,160,117 12/ 1964 Willison et al. 10S-366 pedestal relative to the slide member and pivotal means. 3,251,314 5/ 1966 Gutridge 10S-366 References Cited DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Primary Examiner. UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 U.S. Cl. X.R.

1,102,773 7/1914 Martin 105-368 10S-366; 248-119, 361 

